HomeMy WebLinkAboutITEM IV-AUtility Billing Process
(.Billing & Communication Process
a) Process
1. The City bills 5 districts monthly for utilities.
2. Meter readers read districts bi-monthly and upload the reads
from their handheld to Finance.
3. Meter reading reports are reviewed by Accounting Specialist
for variances in consumption.
4. Bills are due 20 days after the statement is mailed.
5. Bills are mailed to property owners unless a Tenant Release
Form is submitted for rental property.
6. Bills for vacant properties are mailed to the property owner or
designated property manager.
Billing Process Timeline:
1 10 20 25 28 38 43 48 53
Late Fee Next Bill Next Late Fee
Bill Bill Due Assessed Next Bill Tag Shutoff Due Assessed
b) Leaks/Notification
1. Meter readers send reports to Finance once the meters are read.
2. Accounting Specialist reviews Mis-read report for consumption
variances of 175% or higher.
3. During the billing process the billing register is also proofed to
and each account over 50 cons is checked for high
consumption
4. Accounts with high consumption are flagged and service
requests are generated and sent to M & O for investigation 1-2
days after the read.
5. The Water Department Customer Service Technician visits the
property, hangs a door tag to notify the customer of unusual
consumption.
6. If the high consumption is located at a Multi-family or
Commercial property, the Water Department Customer Service
Technician or the Accounting Specialist will contact the
property owner.
The Accounting Specialists will check the subsequent read to
determine if the consumption has decreased or continues to
increase.
8. For accounts with increased consumption on the subsequent
read:
• Service Tech hangs another tag
• Service Tech will contact customer by phone
• Accounting Specialist contacts customer or property
owner
• Account is entered in "ongoing leak" log and
forwarded to the Utility and Accounting Services
Manager and Supervisor.
• Utility & Accounting Services Manager and
Supervisor to determine which accounts need to go
to Code Compliance for enforcement.
• Leak Adjustments Requested April 2010 -March 2011
• Single Family
• Multi-Family 26
• Commercial 18
• Duplex 3
Total 124*
(*Approved: Denied: 47 total dollar amount $64,966.41)
c) Past Due/Penalty Assessment and Notification
1. Bills are due 20 days after the statement is mailed.
2. All accounts are given a 5 day grace period and penalties are
assessed 25 days after the due date of the bill.
3. Penalty statements are mailed to landlords only.
4. Penalties are $15 or 1%, whichever is greater.
5. Penalties are due 10 days after the statement is mailed out.
d) Sewer Billing Based on Water Usage Policy
Single family residents currently pay the City a flat fee monthly for
sewer. These customers pay King County a base rate monthly as
well.
2. Multi-family, Commercial & Municipal/School accounts are
charged a City of Auburn base rate and consumption rate based on
the amount of water used. These customers also pay King County
a base rate and consumption rate as well.
Customers who have Irrigation or Deduct meters are not charged
sewer for this usage as they are able to show that this water does
not enter the sewer system.
II.Financial Policies
a) Penalties/Interest Charged on Late Payments
1. All accounts are given a 5 day grace period and penalties are
assessed 25 days after the due date of the bill.
2. Penalties are $15 or 1%, whichever is greater.
3. Penalty payments are due 10 days after the Penalty statement is
mailed out.
4. Customers can have one late fee removed per 12 months, as a
courtesy, if requested.
5. Penalties are not assessed when a Leak Adjustment Request has
been received and is under review, or when there is a legitimate
billing dispute.
b) Time Payment Plans
1. Backbill payment plan - offered to customers who receive a
backbill for unbilled services. Payments can be made up to the
equivalent period for which the customer was backbilled (3 year
Max.). These arrangements are at the City's discretion.
2. Leak payment plan - offered to customers who are denied a leak
adjustment (not meeting criteria) or whose leak adjustment credit
is $500.00 max. and they are left with a large balance to pay.
3. Past due payment plan - Customers who are facing shut off due to
non-payment must meet this criteria to qualify for a payment
arrangement.
• Can only be made by an owner or with owner's
authorization
• Account is in good standing with NO nsf checks or un-kept
arrangements in prior 12 months.
• Must make arrangements by 5 p.m. day prior to shut off
• Arrangements cannot extend past due date of the
customer's current bill.
• Arrangements do not prevent late fee or tagging.
c) Late Payment Account Statistics
• 2008 10,374
2009 9,903
2010 10,612
• The average per month runs between 825 and 885 accounts
with late fees assessed.
d) Landlord vs. Resident Issues
1. Tenants cannot make payment arrangements without owner's
authorization because if the tenant does not keep the arrangement
the owner is held responsible for those charges. Sometimes the
owners do not call to authorize the arrangement and the tenant is
shut off.
2. Tenants often move out without paying the Final Bill or without
notifying the City or the landlord that they moved. In this
situation, the owner is held responsible for the previous tenants
balance.
3. Owners often get upset because they want to put a Tenant Release
Form in for a new tenant and we do not open an account until the
previous account has been brought current.
4. If the tenant moves out before the account is delinquent we will
open a new account for the new tenant. If the previous tenants
account is not paid, eventually we will transfer that outstanding
balance to the current account and remove the current tenant and
put the account back in the owner's name.
5. After an account is shut off for non-payment and no one comes
into pay to restore service, utilities forwards these accounts to
Code Compliance for follow up. If there is a tenant there then
Code Compliance contacts the owner to let them know they cannot
have a tenant living in a home with no water service and that they
will post the home for non-occupancy if the service is not restored.
e) Community Systems (mobile home parks, apartments)
1. Multi-family, Commercial & Municipal/School accounts are
charged a City of Auburn base rate and consumption rate based on
the amount of water used. These customers also pay King County
a base rate and consumption rate as well.
2. Customers who have Irrigation or Deduct meters are not charged
sewer for this usage as they are able to show that this water does
not enter the sewer system.
3. Single family residences that have two or more dwellings on the
property, sharing one water meter, are charged commercial sewer.
f) Muckleshoot Tribe
Ongoing issues regarding inability to lien property or use other
mechanisms for delinquent accounts other than turning off the
water and pulling the meter. There are a few delinquent accounts
that Public Works and Finance are currently working.
g) Differences in account types (residential, commercial,
agricultural, municipal)
1. All 5 districts are billed monthly flat rates and bi-monthly
consumption with the exception of one district, district 5 which is
billed consumption monthly. The majority of district 5 is
comprised of commercial, multi-family & mobile home park
accounts.
2. All accounts with the exception of single family accounts are
billed sewer based on their water consumption.
3. Accounts with irrigation meters or deduct meters are not billed
sewer for their water consumption.
4. Leak adjustments for single family residents are credited for water
only since they are not billed for sewer consumption. A point of
contention in regards to water leak adjustment requests is on a
commercial account, where the adjustment is denied (typically
because the leak did not occur in the service line between the meter
and where the service line enters the building). In this case, we do
not currently have a policy in place for a sewer adjustment, even
though we have confirmed the water did not enter the sewer
system. Property owners are making the argument that they
deserve a sewer service charge adjustment even if the water leak
adjustment is denied. Often times, the sewer service charge is
significantly more than the water adjustment, due to the $500.00
limitation on water leak adjustments. Property owners Paul
Patterson (a#c # 64413) and John Maryanski (a#c # 17088) have
both made this argument within the last weep
5. Shut off - Single family accounts receive a 3 day notice (usually 5
days including the weekend) prior to shut off. Multi-family &
Commercial accounts receive a 7 day tag and then a 2 hour notice
prior to shut off.
6. Mobile home parks present difficulty with regards to multiple,
repetitive leak adjustment requests. For example, Auburn Manor
appears to have abnormally high consumption but the park
manager is unwilling to shut the park down for inspection.
Utilities does not shut off multi-family accounts larger than a 4-
plex without prior authorization (very rare occasions). The reason
for this is that turning them back on would be difficult since we
cannot restore service if the meter is spinning (usually a faucet was
left in the on position when the water service was shut off).
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